A Massachusetts city will install nearly two dozen city-owned curbside EV charging ports, a move that could significantly benefit EV drivers without home charging.
The project would raise Worcester's total number of city-owned charging ports from 30 to 52 — a 73% increase, according to the Worcester Telegram & Gazette.
Here's what to know
The Telegram & Gazette reported that installation of the new chargers is slated to start in September and finish by the end of December.
Each of the 22 additions will be a curbside Level 2 charger, so charging an EV could take several hours or extend overnight depending on the vehicle and battery.
Plans call for four ports each at 69 Sever St., Russell Street by Elm Park, Providence Street by Vernon Hill Park, and 98 Woodland St. at Oberlin Street, plus six at Great Brook Valley Park.
Officials told the Telegram & Gazette that drivers are expected to pay 30 cents per kilowatt-hour, though the rate may change later.
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John Odell, Worcester's chief sustainability officer, tied the project to the city's broader climate goals, saying, "Transportation accounts for nearly a third of Worcester's communitywide greenhouse gas emissions, so this work is one of the most direct ways we can address climate change while making the city more livable," per the Telegram & Gazette.
More background
Worcester's existing city-owned chargers are mostly clustered in municipal garages, with 24 of the 30 ports located there. The other six are at South High Community School.
The new curbside chargers would broaden access beyond garage-based infrastructure and bring charging access curbside. Odell specifically highlighted the benefits to residents without private parking, who often face a bigger barrier when considering an EV.
That effort fits into the Green Worcester Plan, which won unanimous City Council approval in 2021 and sets targets of fully renewable energy at municipal facilities by 2030, fully renewable electricity citywide by 2035, and fully renewable energy across every sector — including heating and transportation — by 2045, according to the Telegram & Gazette.
The added ports would bring more charging sites closer to neighborhoods and parks, rather than keeping them concentrated mainly in garages or at the school site. The change could help make EV ownership more realistic for apartment dwellers and others without a driveway or garage.
What's being done?
Most of the expansion is funded by a $500,000 grant from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, though Great Brook Valley Park's six planned ports are not included in that grant.
For Great Brook Valley Park, Worcester plans to combine about $90,000 in state and National Grid incentives with roughly $70,000 from city taxpayers, an amount officials expect to recover through charging fees.
The new stations will be listed in the PlugShare mobile app and on the U.S. Department of Energy's Alternative Fuels Data Center map.
"These new stations will make it easier for residents, especially those without a driveway or garage, to choose an electric vehicle," Odell said, per the Telegram & Gazette.
Where can I learn more?
Worcester is hardly alone in trying to make EV charging work for people who cannot plug in at home. These stories look at curbside charging in Boston, stalled charger funding in Massachusetts, and other efforts to expand apartment and public-access charging.
• Across the U.S., apartment dwellers still struggle to make EV ownership work without reliable plugs.
• SWTCH says smarter charging for apartment complexes could ease one of EVs' biggest barriers.
• In Illinois, a state-funded buildout is starting with hundreds more chargers planned.
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